Government revives Pensions Commission
Published: July 21, 2025
The Government has decided to revive the Pensions Commission to examine why future pensioners are on track to be poorer than today’s.
Coming just shy of 20 years after the first Commission, it follows new analysis that suggests retirees in 2050 are on course to receive £800 or 8% less private pension income than those retiring today. Additionally, four in ten – or nearly 15 million people – are undersaving for retirement.
These figures partly reflect that 45% of working-age adults are saving nothing at all into a pension – with lower earners, the self-employed and some ethnic minorities particularly at risk.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said: “People deserve to know that they will have a decent income in retirement – with all the security, dignity and freedom that brings. But the truth is, that is not the reality facing many people, especially if you’re low-paid or self-employed.
“The Pensions Commission laid the groundwork, and now, two decades later, we are reviving it to tackle the barriers that stop too many saving in the first place.”
The relaunched Commission will explore the barriers stopping people from saving enough for retirement – with the final report due in 2027.
It will be made up of Baroness Jeannie Drake – who was a member of the Commission back in 2006 – Sir Ian Cheshire and Professor Nick Pearce, who’ll be responsible for steering its work. They will also work closely with stakeholders including the Confederation of British Industry and the Trade Union Congress.
The Confederation of British Industry’s Chief Executive Rain Newton-Smith said: “The only route to higher living standards both in work and in retirement is through higher growth, productivity and better savings.
“As we look to the next decade and beyond, finding a consensus across business, government and our society on how to support people to save by building on the Mansion House reforms can create a pathway to a better future.
“Taking the time to review the best pathway to achieve this, whilst pursuing broader measures to support growth, will be needed to make it affordable for employers and workers and crucial to the aim of rising living standards, now and in retirement.”
The Trades Union Congress’s General Secretary Paul Nowak added: “Everyone deserves dignity and security in retirement, but right now many workers – especially those in the private sector – will find themselves without enough to get by on.
“Far too many people won’t have enough pension for a decent retirement, and too many – especially women, BME and disabled workers and the self-employed – are shut out of the workplace pension system all together.
“That’s why reviving the Pensions Commission – bringing together unions, employers and independent experts – is a vital step forward. 20 years ago, the Pension Commission played a key role in bringing millions more people into workplace pensions and reducing the risks of pensioner poverty.
“We now have a chance to build on that work by reaching a long-term consensus on extending auto-enrolment to those workers still missing out and making sure that this system delivers the decent retirement incomes all workers need.”
Alongside the Commission, the Government has also launched the State Pension Age Review – commissioning two independent reports for it to consider when deciding the State Pension age for future decades.
One will see Dr Suzy Morrissey report on factors Government should consider relating to the State Pension age, while the other will see the Government’s Actuary’s Department prepare a report on the proportion of adult life in retirement.
